Car-fender.



J. A. MAOMAHON.

Y GAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 3, 1910.

1,078,868. l Patented Nov. v18, 1913.

llllllllllilllllll Hlm I Ill- I IIIlIl-.lllllll l llllllll Pl WZw/', ATTUREYS JOHN A. MACIVIAHON, OF PELADETJIEI-llii., PENNSYLVANIA,

Y GAR-FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.` `Patentd Norg 18, 1913 Application filed February 3,1910. Serial No. 541,803.

siding in the city and countyof Philadel? phia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Car-Fender, of which the following is a specification. n

This invention relates to fenders or guards for trolley cars orV the like and relates more particularly to the type of fender known as a trip and drop scoop, wherein a wheel guard is provided which is normally maintained out of the path of an obstacle on the track but is so attached to the car that the'movement of a suitable trip instantly lowers or drops the guard or scoop to a position in front of the wheels.

It is an object of my invention to provide a fender wherein the action of the parts is positive, the construction simple and effective for the purpose intended and one in which the scoop or guardV may not be thrown to operative position by the jarring or jolting of the car in motion.

1t is a further object to provide a guard which hugs the ground closely in danger or operative position and yet is so arranged that irregularities in the road bed do not displace or damage the same.

It further consists of other novel features of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

-For` the purpose of illustrating my invention l have shown in the accompanying drawing one form thereof which is at present preferred by me, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and def` scribed. v I p Figure l represents a side elevation of a fender embodying my invention in its normal position. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the same when it has been tripped. Fig. 3 represents a detail of construction.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the gures.

Referring to the drawings: In the above described figures the fender is shown as attached beneath the body of the car, thus bringing the scoop into more effective relation to the frontV wheels of the car, while at:

theV same time the entire fender and its ad- ].uncts are protected from injury,.due to collisions and the like occurring injthelcourse `of ordinary street traiic. c, Of course the device may be attached to the front of the car, as is customaryin the present practice, but. such an arrangement is undesirable for the reason that all fenders which are so arranged` takeup unnecessary space and are exposed to all the dangers of street traffic.

l designates the sills of an ordinary car body, to each of which is preferably attached a fender-supporting frame 2. In the present instance there are two of these` frames 2, each being fiXedly secured to the sill lby means of bolts 3 orequivalent devices in such a position as to correctly locate the scoop mechanism with respect to the forward wheels of the car.

As here shown, each frame 2 is provided with depending members 4 and 5, the former serving as supports for the scoop structure and the latter supports for the trip mechanism. The members 4, in the present instance, have pivotally` secured thereto, by means of a rod 6, the scoop arms 7 which serve to carry the scoop member proper and eifect its movement from oneV position to another. These scoop arms 7 are preferably of'more or less curved contour and each is provided Awith two cam faces 8 and 9, whereby a co-acting member `governs the shifting of the arm in a pos:- tive manner.

Each arm 7 connects at one end to the scoop or guard 10 and supports the same in vits various positions, the normal posit-ion being away from'the track, as shown in full 95 .lines in Fig. l, and its operative position in `dotted lines, same figure. `Preferably this 'scoop or guard 10 is formed of a plurality of bars ll transversely disposed with respect to the arms 7 and having secured thereto, at suitable intervals, strips 12, preferably of spring material and terminating'in aQcurved portion 13 adapted to conform to and grip a rod or tubular member 14. It will be noted, in the present instance, that thetubular member 14 is made in sections in order to permitl aA movement of one portion of the scoop or guard without affecting the rest of the structure, thereby allowing a portion of the'guard to Contact with and ride over any irregularities in the road bed. These Astrips 12 are preferably secured Vby bolts 15.

" grun sfra'rns rarnnr onnicn.

to the bars 11 and in order to more securely hold the same in position oneend 16 is bent over a bar 11, thus effectually preventing displacement. The opposite ends of thebars 7 are each provided with a notch or recess 17 of :predetermined size` and shape for a purpose to be hereinafter described. Pivotally secured to the members 5 by means of a stay rod 18 is a trip 19, the same consisting, as here shown, of'a pair of arms 20 secured together by means of a buer bar 21 disposed transversely with respect to the car body and forming a depending device located in the path of any obstacle upon the ro-ad bed. Each trip arm 20 has preferably secured thereto a pin 22 suitably positioned tobe vengaged by the arm 7 'and -co-act with the recess V:17 formed therein. lt will be noted that the ,pin 22 and recess 17 should be very accurately fitted and lof suitable material to resist and prevent wear at `this point, since this kconnection plays an important part in the stability of the fender, the connection being such that movement of the two members is permitted only in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. It will thus fbe clear that when'the 'pin 22 is in the recess 17, the scoop or guard will be ypositively held in its elevated position away from the road bed and the same can only be lowered or dropped by a movement of the trip 19 in the direction of the arrow b.

The stability of this .construction will be apparent when it is seen that a triangle of forcesis established by the points 6, 18 and 22 and as the triangle is the most stable `figure known, the equilibrium of the scoop can only be disturbed by destroying this'triangle of forces, which as here shown, can

Vonly be done'by a'movement of the trip 19 in the direction already V'noted either by engagement with a body inthe path of a car or by manual operation thereof.

The downward 4movement of the scoop or guard does not depend entirely upon gravityv `as I preferably employ a pin 23 upon each trip arm 20, the position of which is such that'upon a movement of the trip 19 it will contact with and ride along the cam surface 9, 'thereby actuating the scoop and moving the same to the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1. It will of course be understood that the speed of the car determines the action of the pin 23 for it is only when the car is moving very slowly that gravity plays any part in the lowering of the scoop member. It will readily be understood that the speed of the trip can never'be less than the speed of the car and it is therefore impossible for the body operating the trip to pass beneath the guard before'the latter is in position to receive it. Y

In order torlock the guard in its tripped position, I preferably employa foot or hand the motorman.

`with the coaction yof the ing a plurality of projections 26 therein Aadapted to coperate with one of the frames 2. This lever 24, as here shown, is pivotally secured at.27 to a lug 28 of one of the trip arms 20, whereby Vthe latter may be operated to drop the scoop by the motorman and also to return the parts to inoperative position after an automatic movement.

29 designates a flexible membervpreferably of spring material and here shown as integral with the lever 24, which serves to maintain the lever 24 in locked position with the frame 2in engagement with oneof the projections 26 on the said lever.

ln the operation of the device the fender is i'iXed in position Vbeneath the `car vand 'set in its normal position, as show-n in Fig. 1, by bringing the, pin 22'into locking engagement with the ynotch 17. ln this position the buffer bar 21 is located so as to contact with an object or the like upon the road bedland :should it strike such an object the pin 22 is immediately released from the notch 17 and the scoop is lowered by engagement of the pin 23 with the cam surfacee9. As the arm 7 is ymoved upward by the pin 23 riding along the cam surface 9, it will be noted that it passes between the two pins 22 and 28, the former of which engages the upper camsurface '8, and whenin its uppermost position7 :as shown in dotted lines Fig. 1, a rigid conu nection between 'the two parts vis provided, preventing improper movement-of the guard itself. In the position just described'the trip 19 is held elevated by the engagement of one Yof the projections 26 with ythe side frame 2, fand'the parts can only be returned to normal posit-ion by a releasing movement of the .lever 24.

It will ofcourse tbe Vunderstood that -the lever 24 vmay be operated at any time' desired by the moto-rman, should he deem it `advisable 'to drop the scoop withoutwaiting for the object to strike the trip, although in the automatic operation of the trip and fender the parts coperate with the lever and are `locked vwithout the intervention of In connection with the pivotal attachment ofthe trip 19 attention is directed to the desirability of forming the trip so that the center of gravity thereof is on the side of a vertical line drawn through the pivotal Ipoint of the trip, that is toward the scoop, since this construction holds the -pin 22 accurately and tightly within the recess 1-7 ,thereby firmly holding the scoop against movement. In connection pin and recessconstruction, it `will be noted that the end of the arm 7 terminates in a suitably shaped hook 30, one Aportion of which conforms Isubstantially tothe arc of'movement of the ltrip nmember '19, thereby forming Ya close tting socket for` the pin 2Q, whereby the oscillation of the scoop is absolutely prevented in its raised or inoperative position.

Attention is further directed to the mounting of the scoop or guard so that its center of gravity is always back of the vertical axis of the pivotal point 6, this arrangement maintaining a constant Y pressure against the pin 22 and the hook 30 on the end of arm 7 thereby preventing any possible downward movement of the scoop. A perfect lock is thus established until the pin 22 is moved out of the recess 17 in the direction of the arrow by the buffer bar 21 coming in contact with an obstructing body in the pat-h of the car or else by manual action from the platform through the lever 24. It will further be noted that the trip and scoop canrnever act independently of each other, thereby making the action of the scoop a mechanical certainty, resultant from any movement of the trip. Furthermorel an additional rigidity of the scoop is made possible through the action of the pin 23 coacting with the cam face 8 in returning the parts to inoperative position, the one riding on the other and forming a positive return for the parts.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a simple and eective fender for the purpose intended and one in which the number of parts is reduced to a minimum and there is no complicated system of levers, connections or the like liable to get out of order, while the self-acting feature is eifective and requires no attention to secure prompt and efficient results in moments of emergency. Particular attention is directed to the fact that there is also less danger in being struck by this device than by that of most previous constructions or designs. The fact that the trip is pivoted andyielding in the direction the object is traveling, that is against the direction of the car, reduces the force of the blow to a minimum, which in itself should prevent many serious injuries.

It will now beV apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement Vof the invention and the above description, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character stated, a guard, a plurality of arms secured to said guard and pivotally mounted on a car frame, one of said arms having a recess therein, a trip pivotally secured adjacent said guard arms, and a pin fiXedly mounted on said trip and co-acting in normal posit-ion with said recess to form a lock.

2. In a device of the character stated, a guard, a plurality of arms secured to said guard and pivotally mounted on a car frame, each of said arms having a recess therein, a trip pivotally secured adjacent said arms, and pins fixedly mounted on said trip and co-acting-in normal position with said recesses to form locks. Y

3. In a device of the character stated, a guard, a plurality of arms secured to said guard, and pivotally mounted upon a car frame, each of said arms having a recess therein, a cam face formed on each arm, a trip pivotally secured adjacent said arms, pins on said trip co-acting in normal position with said recesses to form locks, and

means carried by said trip for engagement with said cam face.

4. In a device of the character stated, a guard, arms4 secured to said guard and pivotally mounted on a car frame, one of said arms having a recess therein, a trip pivotally secured adjacent said guard arms, a pin on said trip co-acting in normal position with said recess to form a lock, and means to lock said guard in its tripped position.

5. In a device of the character stated, a guard, arms secured to said guard and pivotally mounted on a car frame, one of said arms having a recess therein, a trip pivotally secured adjacent said guard arms, a pin on said trip co-acting in normal position with said recesses to form locks, a lever secured to said trip, and means on said lever to lock said guard in its tripped position.

6. In a device of the character stated, a guard, a plurality of arms secured to said guard and pivotally mounted onha car, one of said arms having a recess therein, a pivotally mounted trip, a pin iXedly mounted thereon and coacting in normal position with said recess to form a lock, and means operated by said trip to produce a forward scooping action of said guard.

JOHN A. MACMAHON.

Witnesses:

ROBERT M. BARR, C. D. MCVAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

